Font Size
Isaiah 19:1-15
New International Version
Isaiah 19:1-15
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Egypt
19 A prophecy(A) against Egypt:(B)
See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud(C)
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt(D) with fear.
2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
brother will fight against brother,(E)
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.(F)
3 The Egyptians will lose heart,(G)
and I will bring their plans(H) to nothing;(I)
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists.(J)
4 I will hand the Egyptians over
to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king(K) will rule over them,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
5 The waters of the river will dry up,(L)
and the riverbed will be parched and dry.(M)
6 The canals will stink;(N)
the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.(O)
The reeds(P) and rushes will wither,(Q)
7 also the plants(R) along the Nile,
at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field(S) along the Nile
will become parched, will blow away and be no more.(T)
8 The fishermen(U) will groan and lament,
all who cast hooks(V) into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
will pine away.
9 Those who work with combed flax(W) will despair,
the weavers of fine linen(X) will lose hope.
10 The workers in cloth will be dejected,
and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.
11 The officials of Zoan(Y) are nothing but fools;
the wise counselors(Z) of Pharaoh give senseless advice.(AA)
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the wise men,(AB)
a disciple of the ancient kings”?
12 Where are your wise men(AC) now?
Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
has planned(AD) against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan(AE) have become fools,
the leaders of Memphis(AF) are deceived;
the cornerstones(AG) of her peoples
have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has poured into them
a spirit of dizziness;(AH)
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
as a drunkard staggers(AI) around in his vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do—
head or tail, palm branch or reed.(AJ)
Isaiah 19:1-15
Common English Bible
Isaiah 19:1-15
Common English Bible
Concerning Egypt
19 An oracle about Egypt.
Look! The Lord is riding upon a swift cloud,
and is coming to Egypt.
Egypt’s idols will tremble before God;
the Egyptians’ hearts will melt within them.
2 I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian,
and they will fight,
one against another,
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.
3 Egypt’s spirit will fail from within;
I will frustrate their plans.
They will consult the idols and spirits
and ghosts and fortune-tellers.
4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;
a strong king will rule them, says the Lord God of heavenly forces.
5 The waters of the sea will dry up;
the river will be parched and bare.
6 The rivers will stink;
the streams will shrink and dry;
reeds and rushes will decay.
7 Grass around the Nile, the grass at the mouth of the Nile,
and all the sown land of the Nile
will dry up, blow away, and be no more.
8 Those who fish will lament;
all who cast fishhooks in the Nile will mourn,
and those who spread nets on the water will pine away.
9 Workers with flax will be dismayed;
carders and weavers will grow pale.[a]
10 Makers of cloth will be crushed;
all who earn money will become distressed.
11 The officials of Tanis are fools;
the wisest of Pharaoh’s counselors give stupid advice.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I’m a wise person,
one of the ancient kings”?
12 Where now are your wise ones?
Let them tell you,
let them inform you what the Lord of heavenly forces has planned concerning Egypt.
13 The officials of Tanis have become fools;
the princes of Memphis are deluded;
the tribal chiefs have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has poured into them a spirit of confusion.
They will make Egypt stumble in everything it does,
just as a drunk stumbles in his vomit.
15 Neither head nor tail, palm branch nor reed
will be able to do anything for Egypt.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 19:9 DSS (1QIsaa)
Isaiah 19:1-15
King James Version
Isaiah 19:1-15
King James Version
19 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.
7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.
8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
9 Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.
10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.
11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
12 Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.
14 The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.
Read full chapter
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible